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IJMERR 2022 Vol.11(12): 891-900
DOI: 10.18178/ijmerr.11.12.891-900

Comparison of Aerodynamic Parameters and Power Conversion of a Four-flapping-wing Robot in Different Flight Modes

Kamonrat Tangudomkit and Pruittikorn Smithmaitrie
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand

Abstract—In order to develop a flapping wing robot, the principles of flapping behavior must be understood. In this study, a robot with four flapping wings was investigated to determine the aerodynamic flight parameters and power conversion under three conditions. These are 1) the flapping test on a fixed base to investigate the relationship between the electrical power, the velocity profile of the air jet behind the wings, and the thrust, 2) the hovering test to determine the power requirement that generates the hovering thrust, and 3) the vertical flight test to investigate the power conversion between the input electrical power and the output aerodynamic power. The result of the air velocity profile shows that the maximum jet velocity occurred at 22.5 degrees relative to the body orientation. The flapping wing robot hovered with an average thrust of 0.118 N, with the thrust oscillated around the body weight of 0.123 N. The hovering aerodynamic power-to-weight ratio was 0.020 W/g. The experiments on the different flight modes show the specific conversion of electric power to aerodynamic power of the four-wing robot, which could be used as a guiding parameter for the design of the actuator, flapping mechanism, or wing geometry for further development of four-wing robots.

Index Terms—Flapping wing robot, aerodynamic parameters, hovering flight, flight test, thrust, power conversion

Cite: Kamonrat Tangudomkit and Pruittikorn Smithmaitrie, "Comparison of Aerodynamic Parameters and Power Conversion of a Four-flapping-wing Robot in Different Flight Modes," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 11, No. 12, pp. 891-900, December 2022. DOI: 10.18178/ijmerr.11.12.891-900

Copyright © 2022 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.